Advise, not Sell

Generation now is keen on sales and marketing tactics. You donâ€™t fool them. Calls to action like â€œClick Here!â€ and â€œCall Now!â€ do not work anymore. Generation Now has been trained to naturally block sales messages, even in a personal selling situation.

Give relevant advice. If the advice you give is relevant like you sell it to be, you donâ€™t need to sell! Giving quality advice establishes yourself as an expert on the subject, which will position your brand in the evoked set of your customers. Because Generation Now is used to sales messages, relevant advice will differentiate your company from the rest. Not only are you the expert now, but you are the company the customer trusts because you are not trying to sell to her.

Danielle pointed out a great example when she was looking for limos for our company Christmas party. Top Dog Limo provides visitors to its website a San Diego Christmas Lights Map, something very relevant to its audience and the time of year.

When I take my girlfriend on a trip around San Diego to look at Christmas lights Iâ€™m going to use Top Dog Limo. I know they know the best places because they are an expert on Christmas lights in San Diego and they are the only limo company to provide such as map. I donâ€™t need sales messages talking about a discount or past testimonials because Top Dog gave relevant advice.